Bowed musical instrument.



No. 893,771. I PATENTED JULY 21, 1908.

E. H. AMET.

BOWED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION PILSD JAN. 21 1907.

II" w Mizfzzflfaw 4: 725 %5JZZA EDWARD H. AMET, OF PHOENIX, ARIZONATERRITORY.

BOWED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

' Application filed January 21, 1907.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1908.

Serial No. 353,387.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD H. AMET, a citizen of the United States,residing at Phoenix, in the county of Maricopa and Territory of Arizona,have invented a new and useful Bowed Musical Instrument, of which thefollowing is a specification.

It is of the objects of this invention to provide a stringed instrumentof superior tone quality, carrying power, volume, and combined reed andstring tone effect; to provide an instrument with which a form ofcomposite tone color may be produced.

A further object is to provide a form of stringed instrument in whichthe timbre of all of the strings will be uniform.

The invention comprises a stringed instru ment having a body orsound-box closed at three edges and open at the other edge. I do notlimit the invention to opening the sound box at any particular edgeexcept that it is to be understood that I use the term edge to indicatethe margins of the space between the top and bottom sides or walls thatcorre spond to the belly and back of a viol.

I will illustrate the invention as applied in an instrument open andflared laterally, the side walls or top and bottom soundingboardsdiverging transversely of the strings.

The illustration will be of an instrument to be played with a bow, notshown, but it is to be understood that the invention is applicable toother forms of instruments in which strings may be otherwise caused tovibrate.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a top view of an instrument embodying the invention. Fig. 2is an edge elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a view from the right ofFigs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a section of Figs. 1 and 2 on irregular line:20*ac Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section on line 03 Figs. 3 and 1. Fig. 6is a plan omitting the strings, tail-piece and top sound board.

The instrument shown is provided with a neck 1, peg-box and scroll 2,strings 3, tailpiece 4, tail button 5, finger-board 6 and bridge 6,common to instruments of the viol class. 7 is a sound-board having bouts8 and 9 to accommodate a bow. Said instrument is provided with anopen-edged body 10, the

- top of which is formed by the sound-board 7,

the bottom by a deflecting sound-board 11 connected by wedge shaped footpieces or walls 12 and 13, the latter of which is intermediatelyrecessed at the top, as shown at 14, so as to be out of contact with thetop sound-board except at the edges thereof, as clearly shown in Figs. 3and 1. Preferably, the top sound-board projects beyond the foot-piece 13of the body to form the supporting end 15 of the instrument-whichpreferably terminates in a hollow box 16 rearwardly of the foot-piece 13of the body.

The open edge of the sound-box is prefer ably in approximate parallelismwith the strings, as seen at 9 in Fig. 1, to project the soundlaterally.

17 is a bar extending axially through the laterally-flaring opening 18of the body. The top soundboard 7 and bottom or deflecting sound-board11 unite at one edge of the instrument, and the bout 8 on that edge ofsaid instrument is narrow and deep, and the wall 19 thereof is referablythin and made of some practical y non-resonant material which will notinterrupt the vibration of the soundboards at the bout, and will not setup vibrations of its own contrary to the vibrations of the sound-boards.Said wall may be of soft wood, leather, rubber, or the like.

The instrument may or may not be provided with vibration-distributingdevices in the form of sound posts 20, 21, both of which are shown inplace in Fig. 2, but are omitted from Fig. 5. various positions, oneabove and the other These posts may be placed in below, the bar 17, andhave the effect ofchanging the timbre of the instrument.

22 is a reinforcing block for securing the neck.

The instrument may be made of various kinds of wood, preferably of softwood, as

Spanish cedar, pine, or other woods which have a homogeneous character.

In case the top sound-board is of considerable thickness for purposes ofstrength or for other reasons, the same may be provided with scores orgrooves 23 on opposite sides of the bridgeextending practicallyequidistant forwardly and rearwardly from the bridge. By making suchscores said sound-board is adapted to respond more readily to thevibrations of the bridge.

The quality of the tone with the same character of wood will vary withthe thickness of the sound-board; the thinner the board, the morebrilliant the tone, while with a thicker board the tone is fuller andsweeter.

By providing a sound box having oppositely disposed diverging sides asthe top sound board 7 and deflecting sound board 11, the sound waves arepro ected in the direction toward which the open edge or margin of theinstrument is presented, so that with an instrument of a determinedsize, a great volume of tone may be produced. in a determined directionand the carrying power greatly increased as compared with the ordinaryconstruction of bowed instruments.

By the construction shown the top and bottom sound boards or sidescooperate to give forth sound vibrations which are directed outwardlyinto space from the open edge of the instrument, in larger measure thanin any other direction; the effect upon the car being that ofsimultaneous vibration of the entire area of both. walls. The mosteffective angle of divergence of the walls from the closed edge is foundby experiment to be approximately that shown in the drawings,- via, anangle of about 18.

The bar 1.7 serves the double purpose of strengthening and. stiffeningthe instrument, thus relieving the sound-boards to a greater or lessextent from any tendency to bow under the stress of the strings, and italso serves to modify the tone of the instrument, giving a softer andsweeter quality. Said bar may be omitted or included in the instrument.

When the sound-transmitting devices 20 and 21 are in place the bar 17acts to distribute the vibration mechanically from the top sound-board 7to the bottom soundboard 11.

What I claim is:

1. A stringed instrument having an open edged wedge-shaped sound box,the open edge of which is in approximate parallelism with the strings.

2. A stringed instrument having an open edged wedge-shaped body portion,the open edge of which is in approximate parallelism with the strings.

3. A stringed instrument comprising a flaring body portion open at thethicker margin, having bouts, linger-board and a tail piece.

4. A stringed instrument comprising a flaring body portion open at thethicker margin, and a finger board and tail piece.

5. A stringed instrument comprising a sound box having a flaring cavityand strings stretched over said box, said cavity being open at the widermargin.

6. A stringed instrument comprising a sound box consisting of a flaringvibratory shell, the sides fastened together at and closing one edge ofthe shell, and free and spaced apart at the opposite edge thereof.

7. A stringed instrument comprising a sound box consisting of vibratorysides, the edges of which are fastened together at one edge of the boxand free at the opposite edge and separated by wedge shaped walls.

8. A stringed instrument comprising a sound box consisting of vibratorysides fastened together at one edge of the box and being free at theopposite edge thereof, the free edges of the sides being spaced apartand walls connecting the vibratory sides to form a wedge shaped spacebetween the same.

9. A stringed instrument comprising a sound box consisting of two soundboards joined together at one edge and free at the other, and a barbetween said sound boards.

10. A stringed instrument comprising a sound box consisting of vibratorysides fastened together at one edge and free at the opposite edge, thefree edges of the sides being spaced apart, and a tail piece adjacentand extending over said sound box.

11. A stringed instrument comprising a sound box consisting of avibratory shell, open at one edge and having sides converging to theother edge, said instrument also having a linger board, a foot piece, atail piece for securing the strings and a bridge. resting on the shellfor transmitting vibrations to said shell.

12. A stringed instrument comprising a sound. box consisting ofvibratory sound. boards free at one edge and joined at the other by apractically non-resonant wall, one of said sound boards extending awayat an angle from the other.

13. A stringed instrument comprising a sound box consisting of vibratorysound boards free and spaced at one edge and joined at the other; one ofsaid boards being angularly disposed with regard to the other, thejoined edge of the instrument having a bout which is closed by apractically nonresonant material.

14. In a musical instrument, a soundbox comprising a sound-board, asound-board joined thereto and extending away therefrom at an angle, abar extending through and fixed. at its ends to the sound-box, andvibratory means for setting up sound vibrations in said sound-box.

15. A stringed instrument sound. box comprising a sound board, a soundboard joined thereto extending away from the point of jointure at anangle and said boxes having on the joined edge a bout closed by a wall.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los AngelesCalifornia this 3rd day of January 1907.

EDWARD H. AM ET.

In presence of JAMES R. TOWNSEND, JULIA TOWNSEND.

